In 2018, the technology arm of Chinese web insurer ZhongAn was developing a blockchain platform, to track the provenance of chicken. It became the first Chinese company that joined the blockchain projects aimed at improving China’s food safety records, as in past the country has been hit by series of scandals involving contaminated produce and supply chain fraud. After, being introduced last year, blockchain technology is now being adopted by many local vendors and large enterprises in the country. Recently, at Zhejiang Agriculture Fair in China, the visitors got the opportunity to witness a local vendor Taishun Mountain Gardenia showcasing” running chicken”, which is sold after they run a million steps.

The idea behind the collection of information about the bird on a blockchain is to allow the buyers to view the growth cycle and living environment of each chicken.  Chinese poultry farming has been long accused of raising the birds in an unhealthy environment. This included cramping the chicken in small cages and using antibiotics to boost their growth. The blockchain technology employed in poultry will deal with this concern by providing the consumer with accurate data that the chicken was raised in a healthy environment.

The lifecycle detail stored on the blockchain could include the type of feed, medical information, and details of the farm on which the chicken was raised. This technology will not just help in rebuilding the trust of Chinese and international consumers on domestic poultry but will also fulfill the initiative of food traceability, which is gathering attention in China. The technology has already been employed by VeChain, which is helping Wal-Mart China to track food.  

The greatest benefit that can be enjoyed by Chinese poultry farmers by employing blockchain technology is the lower cost achieved through greater efficiency, lower transaction cost and better access to information. The security provided by the system allows safe and quick payments, eliminating the need for third-party payment processing. Moreover, the visibility of the blockchain improves pricing transparency especially for small farmers in regions that have not previously access to global pricing. The technology can also speed up the movement of poultry through the supply chain network, and allow fast removal of animals that have been diagnosed with some disease. Blockchain technology can save the farmers from the impacts of epidemics, as timely information about the bird can be utilized for prevention.